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They're all pretty spot-on. Dale Murphy was the biggest surprise for me. I would have taken Smoltz or Maddux over Murphy, but there's a lot of duration over peak, which makes sense for a list like this. Maybe some credit for Murphy's time on the abysmal Braves makes him a little more heart-warming.

Or the even more interesting question, which player for each team inspires the greatest ambivalence? Someone like Carlos Zambrano for the Cubs - good player for a long time, sometimes better than good, often fun to watch, but man oh man did everyone get tired of him.

Gotta ask the inevitable follow-up question: Who is the most despised player for each MLB team?

Any rules about tenure? The most beloved players tend to need longevity, as that's part of the charm. I mean, Carl Everett is fairly despised in Boston, but in the grand scheme of things he wasn't there very long.

Pirates - several good candidates: Barry Bonds, Dave Parker, Pat Meares, Joggin' George Hendricks... but probably the guy who symbolized the franchise at its lowest point was good ole Operation Shutdown, Derek Bell.

The only Braves I can think of who are hated by the whole fanbase are Dan Kolb and Melky Cabrera. There are other guys who are hated in some circles (Yunel Escobar, Jeff Francoeur, John Rocker), but they don't meet the grade.

That's way offbase for the Orioles. Brooks is far more beloved than Cal.

Yeah, at best it'd be a tie. I can't imagine anyone other than maybe Musial or Banks being more beloved than Brooks.

Most despised Oriole would obviously be Angelos, but if you limit it to players it'd probably be---at the time they left the team, anyway---Palmeiro, Wiggins or Dennis Martinez. Dennis would probably be forgiven by now, but when he left Baltimore he was seen a lush and as a super underachiever.

I'm going to agree with McCovey over Mays. I think it was certainly that way when they played. And nothing against Mays, but a lot of the early SF fans didn't fully embrace Mays because he'd come from New York. McCovey was the first Giants superstar that started his career with the San Francisco Giants.

Tough to say. Everyone loves Ernie but I think the article makes a good point that Santo's career as a broadcaster (not to mention his decades-long sympathy-generating HOF campaign) gave him a personal connection to people that Ernie doesn't quite have.

Man, that's really dating yourself, but yeah, he'd be right up there (or down there) with whatever Yankee fans would still remember him, plus any living opponents of his who survived his headhunting expeditions.

Tough to say. Everyone loves Ernie but I think the article makes a good point that Santo's career as a broadcaster (not to mention his decades-long sympathy-generating HOF campaign) gave him a personal connection to people that Ernie doesn't quite have.

I think that just like Brooks and Cal among Orioles fans, if you put Santo and Banks up to a three way vote among Cubs fans with "tie" the third choice, the tie would win almost unanimously.

It's probably closer than one might think at first glance... I'm a traditionalist, so I think I'd say Banks... but Santo isn't a wrong choice.

I'm kind of surprised that Boog Powell wasn't mentioned for the O's... knowing a couple Baltimore fans, they seem to see Boog the same way Cubs fans see Santo.

As far the most despised Cub:

I think the BTF contingent most likely votes for Neifi. That's probably a good choice. Other Cubs despised candidates would include Danny Jackson, Milton Bradley, and a whole host of closers - LaTroy Hawkins, Dave Smith, Mel Rojas, and believe it or not -- Lee Smith... Capt Tightpants, too, I guess

Rickey is obvious for the A's, but for most hated, I don't really know. Maybe Ruben Sierra? I know Bill King hated him. A's fans don't hate Dave Kingman as much as the fans for all the other teams he played for I don't think. Brian Fuentes rehabilitated himself by getting Bob Geren fired. I think Troy Neel is loathsome but I don't think about him much.

I think that just like Brooks and Cal among Orioles fans, if you put Santo and Banks up to a three way vote among Cubs fans with "tie" the third choice, the tie would win almost unanimously.

Maybe. My feeling is that there's a generational dynamic at play, too ... Banks is the old guy that only a relative few fans really remember or have any personal connection to except knowing him as a figurehead. Santo's got a more immediate connection.

Plus, and I don't mean to be flippant about this, but Santo's dead, and I think that's a factor. When Banks passes one day, there will be a massive outpouring of love for him too, with weeks of media remembrances, team tributes, etc.

I'm kind of surprised that Boog Powell wasn't mentioned for the O's... knowing a couple Baltimore fans, they seem to see Boog the same way Cubs fans see Santo.

For some reason Baltimore fans seem to have more beloved ex-players than almost any other city's team, and this also held for the Colts (Unitas, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, etc.) and probably the Ravens. And that "some reason" is that so many of the players, at least in the past, wound up settling into Baltimore during their careers and never left in retirement. Are any other cities like that?

I don't know why but for some reason, my favorite player of all time is Tris Speaker. I guess it's just because he had a cool sounding name and he was even better on defense than he was on offense. And his offense was pretty awesome.

I think I would have enjoyed dead all era baseball quite a bit, with all the running and bunting and balls being put in play.

I think the BTF contingent most likely votes for Neifi. That's probably a good choice. Other Cubs despised candidates would include Danny Jackson, Milton Bradley, and a whole host of closers - LaTroy Hawkins, Dave Smith, Mel Rojas, and believe it or not -- Lee Smith... Capt Tightpants, too, I guess

There was some frustration with Lee Smith back in the day that I'm dimly aware of, but my feeling is that it was relatively minor and all long since forgotten and people like him now. I can't imagine any Cubs fan saying "Lee Smith" when asking them their most despised Cub. Sosa would get votes, though.

I also feel that Farnsworth is regarded as a doofus but not really despised.

Hawkins, yes, as much as anyone I can remember in my time. Soriano was heading down the same path but improbably reinvented himself as a valued veteran leader.

Don't know about most despised Mariner. ARod was hated because of the manner of his departure, but loved while he was an M.
Can we get another vote for Carl Everett?, given that he only played half a season...

Without a doubt. Nothing against Ortiz who is incredibly popular in his own right but up until his death last year Pesky was just adored by everyone. Like most people around the Boston area I had a couple of opportunities to interact with Pesky and he was just an incredibly nice person.

There was some frustration with Lee Smith back in the day that I'm dimly aware of, but my feeling is that it was relatively minor and all long since forgotten and people like him now. I can't imagine any Cubs fan saying "Lee Smith" when asking them their most despised Cub. Sosa would get votes, though.

There's the Garvey HR, of course -- but I guess my recollection and what I remember from others when Lee got traded was more "FINALLY!" rather than "damn!".

Maybe you're right - perhaps it's less "hated" and more "surprisingly disliked"

It's tough between Murphy and Aaron for most beloved Brave, but I think I agree with the Murphy selection. I mean, Murphy was pretty much *the* face of Atlanta in the 80s. Everyone loved Murph

I'd say Murph is the most beloved Atlanta Brave, while Aaron is the most respected Brave. I'd like to argue Aaron as the most beloved Brave of all time, all three cities included, but he faced a lot of racism in both Milwaukee and Atlanta.

As for despised, no one really stands out as a villain from the early years; Rocker was a mouth breathing fool, but he beat the Mets in 1999 and pissed them of fin the process, plus a lot of the local "don't tread on me" good ol' boy types still have a spot in their hearts for him. I'd go with Melky. It's recent and he was only here for a season, but pretty much everyone who loves the Braves hates that guy with the passion of a thousand suns.

For some reason Baltimore fans seem to have more beloved ex-players than almost any other city's team, and this also held for the Colts (Unitas, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, etc.) and probably the Ravens. And that "some reason" is that so many of the players, at least in the past, wound up settling into Baltimore during their careers and never left in retirement. Are any other cities like that?

Hmm. Frank thomas as most beloved for the Sox? I don't buy it. The media turned on him during the second half of his tenure with the team, and I certainly don't ever recall a Puckett-esque love affair with the fans.

For some reason Baltimore fans seem to have more beloved ex-players than almost any other city's team, and this also held for the Colts (Unitas, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, etc.) and probably the Ravens. And that "some reason" is that so many of the players, at least in the past, wound up settling into Baltimore during their careers and never left in retirement. Are any other cities like that?

Frank thomas as most beloved for the Sox? I don't buy it. The media turned on him during the second half of his tenure with the team, and I certainly don't ever recall a Puckett-esque love affair with the fans.

Yeah, I'd go with Baines. Hell, they retired his number while he was still active.

Carl Crawford was very popular during his tenure here but signing with Boston hurts that, plus he was at times a frustrating player to watch at the plate and when he gets interviewed you realize that, to be brutally honest, he's not one of the sharper guys around. I would say that James Shields is easily the most popular pitcher, Price's popularity is high of course but I think Shields is still way ahead of him; one factor in this may be that Shields was traded away by the team against his will while everyone just assumes that Price will be leaving for a big free agent deal once he's eligible. The dark horse candidate is Carlos Pena, everyone around here loves the guy and there was a lot of happiness when he was brought back in 2012. I think the only reason I would definitely put Longoria as most beloved is that Pena struggled so badly in his return.

Most despised for Rays fans is easily Vinny Castilla. Just about everyone here hates that guy.

If AG1F is right and Neifi wins most despised Royal -- and while other names have been mentioned, I feel pretty sure Neifi would win for the Cubs... Does that make Neifi the only guy despised for multiple teams? Heredia is another candidate.

Any guys who have a prayer - or even just belong on the shortlist - for most beloved for multiple orgs?

Maddux comes to mind for me... but he's just on the list, not really a challenger to Murphy/Aaron/whomever on the Braves nor Banks/Santo/etc on the Cubs.

Well yes, game 162 helps a bit for sure! By all accounts Longoria is a great guy, he doesn't get into trouble off the field, never makes an ass of himself on it, and is great with the fans. Pena is just at another level though, he's one of the truly great people in the game and you can see on the field how much his teammates liked him and how much he just enjoyed being there. He was a great ambassador to the fans for the team and was viewed as one of the clubhouse leaders as the franchise turned itself around. Plus there was that amazing season to close out the Devil Rays (and losing) years, that kind of things sticks in people's memories.

Well, and this. They have a portion of the LF seating area where the ball landed dedicated to that hit.

That wall is actually a funny twist of fate. It used to be the same height as the rest of the outfield wall but the team had it lowered because they were hoping it would give Carl Crawford a chance to make a few spectacular home-run robbing catches (as far as I know he never did though). Crawford leaves for the Red Sox and the next season the reduced height of the wall was possibly the reason the Rays make the playoffs instead of Boston.

I think Adam Laroche would get some negative support among Pirate fans. Just about all his production would come in the second half after the Pirates were buried, and he showed nothing in the way of "fire." Add in some reflected frustration from his brother, and Adam has a pretty strong case.

In the "respected rather than beloved" list, I would think Mike Schmidt for the Phillies. Great player, of course, one of the smartest in pure baseball sense, but until 1985 or so he never drew the local affection that a player of his stature warranted. Of course, you could say the same thing about Ted Williams for much of his career with the Bosox, but Schmitty never was that sort of a lightning rod.

Hmm. Frank thomas as most beloved for the Sox? I don't buy it. The media turned on him during the second half of his tenure with the team, and I certainly don't ever recall a Puckett-esque love affair with the fans.

Agree. Konerko was openly trashing him as a person at the end. I was not on Konerko's side on that one and found it petty and piggish. All the same, the three old timey infielders were all more loved, so was Pierce. I don't doubt Faber, Walsh, or Lyons either. For the White Sox, the proper selection would be old school.

That wall is actually a funny twist of fate. It used to be the same height as the rest of the outfield wall but the team had it lowered because they were hoping it would give Carl Crawford a chance to make a few spectacular home-run robbing catches (as far as I know he never did though). Crawford leaves for the Red Sox and the next season the reduced height of the wall was possibly the reason the Rays make the playoffs instead of Boston.

Wasn't that portion of the wall called "The Crawford Cutout" for a few years?

I think Stanley was despised back in the day, but time and perspective have healed a lot of those wounds. That, and if we're focused on "back in the day" Julio Lugo was despised far more, and pretty much throughout his entire duration with the team.

Stanley was despised kind of like Matsuzaka was. He was a frustrating pitcher in the moment, but actually did OK.

It we're including the whole history of the franchise, then Mathewson and Ott would be serious candidates for the Giants. I'm going to disagree a bit with Steve and others about the Mays/McCovey issue. That was true at first and for a long time, but I think it's evened out now.